Has anyone fished in Japan?

General Fishing Discussion
1

Planning a business trip to Okinawa late September through October and I’m going to take a few days for myself to play. Just wondering if anyone had any tips/suggestions on what to do or who to see about wetting a line. I’ll surf fish, I don’t care.

Any help is appreciated.

…because everything is a conspiracy!!!

2

“George Perry” the name associated with the world record largemouth caught on June 2, 1932 that weighed 22 pounds, four ounces – a record
for over 7 1/2 decades, and a record some thought would never get broken. Well, it looks like it may have finally been broken. The previous Japanese bass record tipped the scales at 19.15 pounds, a fish that was caught by Kazuya Shimada from Lake Ikehara on April 22, 2003 on a swimbait.

A Japanese angler “Manabu Kurita”, fishing at Lake Biwa in the Shiga Prefecture of Japan reports landing a 22-pound, 5-ounce bass. Manabu Kurita, a pro staffer representing Deps Tackle Co. in Japan claims to have caught a bass that measured 29.4 inches long, but girth
measurements were not given. It reportedly was weighed on a certified scale, but no other details were given, such as what he used to catch it. There is no information yet on what lure Kurita caught the big bass on, although a swimbait would be a logical guess given all the Big
Bass that have been caught on this type of bait in the past.

The fact that Kurita’s bass reportedly weighs an ounce more than George Perry’s current world record, Perry’s name still may not disappear from the No. 1 spot as the IGFA rules state that a bass must weigh 2 ounces more than Perry’s to break the record. So Kurita’s catch would tie it, coming in at an ounce over Perry’s current record.
The fact that Japan may have produced a world record size bass shouldn’t be that surprising to anglers who follow largemouth bass fishing.

Japan has been stocking the largemouth bass for a number of years and in particular “Lake Biwa” is a massive 259-square miles, and is one of the 20 oldest lakes in the world. A beautiful clear lake and over 300 feet deep in spots, it is home to Biwa trout (salmon), huge catfish, ayu, and more than 50 species unique to the fishery. Largemouth bass were introduced there years ago.

There have been many close calls of largemouth bass that were not certified, were foul hooked or were just plain rumor, it appear

3

Okinawa and Japan are 2 seperate places. Okinawa is a small Pacific island full of service bases. Not exactly a vacation destination.

4

23sail…i have a nephew stationed in okinawa, japan now…he says the fsihing is awesome…plenty of charter for trolling and bottom fishing…you want i should get some names/numbers?

Mike Crouch
Sea Tow Charleston
843-881-8949
Sea School Charleston
843-747-1000
www.seatow.com
www.seaschool.com

5
quote:
Okinawa and Japan are 2 seperate places. Okinawa is a small Pacific island full of service bases. Not exactly a vacation destination
Actually I think it is a vacation destination for the Japanese. My son just got back from there and said he could see fish tailing from his hotel balcony. No liscense required.
6

If you are going to Okinawa, you will be fishing the South China Sea. I have pictures from a charter trip back in '06. We caught probably 35, 15-25 lb yellow fin drifting and two dolphin trolling to the drift area. You can catch dolphin off of the HILL. Saw a little Japanese guy do it near a popular fishing/diving locale. There are a few American charter captains operating out of there. Good luck and enjoy. Go to the Banana Show, you won’t and will be, sorry you did. All I can say on that topic on a public forum.

7

Guess it has changed a lot since 1973

8
quote:
Originally posted by mike7653

23sail…i have a nephew stationed in okinawa, japan now…he says the fsihing is awesome…plenty of charter for trolling and bottom fishing…you want i should get some names/numbers?

Mike Crouch
Sea Tow Charleston
843-881-8949
Sea School Charleston
843-747-1000
www.seatow.com
www.seaschool.com

I would greatly appreciate that along with his name if you don’t mind. I’d love to get one of the locals to take me out and show me some stuff. I wasn’t really thinking of bringing my flygear, but if there are tailing fish of any kind there, I would love to do it! If he’s stationed there, we might just run into each other anyways. This is a work trip for me with a couple of days of relaxation mixed in.

Thanks.

…because everything is a conspiracy!!!

9

he is presently enroute to Iraq/Afhan so i shot him an email and awaiting a reply…

Mike Crouch
Sea Tow Charleston
843-881-8949
Sea School Charleston
843-747-1000
www.seatow.com
www.seaschool.com

10

Thanks Mike. My trip isn’t until the last week in September, so we have a little bit of time. I do appreciate the help though; hope it works out!

…because everything is a conspiracy!!!

11

I lived in Okinawa for 4yrs in the early 90’s i would love to go back for vacation. it is very tropical.

    Get Lit II
12
quote:
Originally posted by Get Lit II

I lived in Okinawa for 4yrs in the early 90’s i would love to go back for vacation. it is very tropical.

    Get Lit II

What’s the fishing like? What else should I do while I’m there?

…because everything is a conspiracy!!!